hi
i was hoping people could give me some friendly advice please!
i’m in the market for an s1 exige,i’ve seen a few on pistonheads.com which appears to be the best place to look for exiges.
what do you think of these 2,obviously they are at different ends of the scale.
Used cars for sale | PistonHeads UK being the cheaper option and
Used cars for sale | PistonHeads UK
i know the 2nd one is sold but i’m tryin to get an idea for the market rather than just jumping in head first like i have been known for in the past!!
thanks for any help
Dean
If you snooze you looze, I bought the first one I looked at, got a minter aswell (cheers Karl). I was like you, but I soon found out that you have to be quick!!!
The first one is a well known car, thats all i’m going to say. The second…well it’s gone so i’m guessing it was ok. I must admit buying an S1 was a great buzz, you never know whats going to turn up next, it’s yet another one of life great games. Enjoy it and good Luck mate
The S1 Exige market is very hard to judge as there are so few examples for sale at any one time, you don’t have much to compare with.
The things that seem certain at the moment are:
Nearer �15k = Tatty ones that have nearly or more than 40k miles, and hence probably ready for the first rebuild of the VHPD or an engine conversion. You WILL need to spend more money fairly quickly. Tarting up, usual Elise consumables like ball joints, dampers, engine work of some kind etc. Nothing to say it can’t be a good car afterwards, but you need to go in with eyes wide open.
Nearer �20k, or exceptionally just over = Mint low milers, maybe with 1 or 2 desirable mods.
No reason you can’t run one of these cars happily without mega spending other than servicing, consumables and so on.
Note that some with very little use may not be a good buy because seals have dried out, warranty mods not done, engines still tight, rusted brakes etc.
Leather seats with normal belts don’t sell well. Not much in the 170 / 190 bhp conversion. A/C is a waste of time and worth nothing extra.
Emerald ECU and brake upgrades are useful as they can transform the car.
Don’t be put off by track use. Most owners will have lavished the car with money, extra oil changes and general TLC as a result. Such a car is likely to be a much better buy than a tight and corroding garage trinket.
How’s that?
Deano,
It depends what you want!
The cheap one would be great to rag its @rse off but you have to wonder why its never sold after all of these months!
The other one was well underpriced, thats why it sold immediately.
I bought mine last year, 2001, S1, 11,000 miles in absolutely pristine condition with all of the mods (all done by Lotus), every single piece of paperwork imaginable, yet the asking price was �23,500.
Quite simply…you get what you pay for!
There cannot be many better ones than mine but then the purchase price reflected that!
Buy the best you can afford, the S1s can only appreciare, theres not many good ones left!
thanks alex!!
i tend to use my car a lot,if i do get an exige i will rack up the miles
roughly how much does a rebuild cost?and are they usually due about the 40k mile mark?i’m pretty noobish about this kind of stuff but tryin to learn as much as poss!!
really want to get an exige but tryin to work out if its worth it in a financial sense(i know it’ll be worth it in a driving sense!! )
sorry if i sound daft in these posts but i’m on the phone at the same time!!
regards
Dean
It’s a little bit of pot luck with the VHPD engine regarding longevity. They were all handbuilt by a company called PTP. There’s plenty of info on this site about them (including some mega flame wars!), but most don’t seem to go much past 40 or 50k miles without some sort of attention. Others have soldiered past that, but it has to be said it’s relatively few.
A full rebuild could be something of the order of �4-5k depending who does it and what needs replacing. A “top end refresh” would be less. Honda conversions start at around �10k.
As Bertone says, you tend to get what you pay for. My advice is to buy from an enthusiast who knows the car’s history intimately. Not from a dealer who doesn’t know the car and has just taken it as a PX.
sounds like this car could seriously empty my wallet!!!
i noticed in another thread about honda conversion s1’s,i imagine these dont go up for sale very often as they tend to be owned my enthusiasts.
i’m guessing the s2 is goin to be more reliable but i’m scared of buyin one incase i get bombarded with emails from you guys wanting free haircuts!!
i suppose i should get out and drive one first to see whether its as good as i hope it to be.
anyone live near glasgow?!?!
Dean
For a few light hearted jibes about your skills with a hairdryer and (mostly) worry free motoring, it has to be the S2.
For the full-on Exige experience, S1 all the way! (with a suitable contingency fund!)
If it’s any help, a lot of S2 Exige owners seem to be baling out in favour of the Exige S. Consequently, prices for regular S2s have never been cheaper.
For the full-on Exige experience, S1 all the way! (with a suitable contingency fund!)
well that what i was thinking!
i originally started lookin at the s2 elise at murray’s,then looked at the s2 exige as it made the elise look…well…a bit camp.
but when i see them side by side i still prefer the s1 exige
i still remember the first day i saw one on the road! 6th september 2000 on maryhill rd in glasgow!!
Dean(a.k.a sad git!! )
If you are going to try one first, there will only be one outcome!!! Just bought my car, S1 15,000 miles, all the upgrades. Payed 20k for it last month, mint condition but had been tracked, absolutly love it, but not sure if i could use it every day, think it might not be as special if i did.
If you are going to try one first, there will only be one outcome!!! Just bought my car, S1 15,000 miles, all the upgrades. Payed 20k for it last month, mint condition but had been tracked, absolutly love it, but not sure if i could use it every day, think it might not be as special if i did.
Sounds very similler to mine when i bought it a few months back-16000 miles, mint condition and payed bang on 20K This is the going rate for a low millage mint one dean. what spec is you car mate, colour etc?
Mine is a late 2001 car, 192 factory upgrade, A/C cant coment on it yet! racing seats with 4 pointers and its BRG. I havnt seen any other S1’s in BRG yet!
Mine is a late 2001 car, 192 factory upgrade, A/C cant coment on it yet! racing seats with 4 pointers and its BRG. I havnt seen any other S1’s in BRG yet!
any pics?sounds great
no havnt got round to it yet. not even sure how to post em. wot have you got?
Rochy - is it this one per chance?
yep thats the one. did you know of the car before?
no havnt got round to it yet. not even sure how to post em. wot have you got?
1999 uk integra type r
[image]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00916.jpg[/image]
lotus theme in the back!!
[image]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00346.jpg[/image]
really love it but the exige is calling me!!!
![http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00916.jpg[/image]](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00916.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
![http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00346.jpg[/image]](http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f330/deano15482/DSC00346.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}
yep thats the one. did you know of the car before?
No, I’m just a bit of a Pistonheads saddo!
Looks like a nice car. Similar spec to mine.
yep thats the one. did you know of the car before?
lovely car rochy…i was looking at that one!!!
nearly bought one of them last year but got a lotus elan S2 instead.